It’s not over yet… Vote for Frazier O’Leary on December 4!

The general election may be done, but there is a special election in Ward 4 on Tuesday, December 4! The JUFJ Campaign Fund is thrilled to announce our endorsement for Frazier O’Leary for State Board of Education, Ward 4.

Frazier has nearly 50 years of experience as a teacher and coach in DC Public Schools (Cardozo High School and Garnet-Patterson Junior High). He’s spent his career nurturing success for all his students and challenging them to reach new heights.

As a member of the State Board of Education, Frazier will be a vocal advocate for improving the quality of and enrollment in DC’s traditional public schools, moving away from high stakes testing, teaching diverse curricula, and investing more heavily in early childhood learning. He will use his role on the Board to help parents navigate the complexities of school lottery system, fight for resources for families with special needs, and mentor new teachers.

As a parent, teacher, and community leader, Frazier will be a strong voice for all Ward 4 families.

Elissa Silverman is a fierce champion of economic and social justice. As a Councilmember she has worked tirelessly to support renters, seniors, and low-income residents by fighting for funding for rental subsidies, public transit, and unemployment insurance. She is an author of DC’s groundbreaking paid family and medical leave law and a loud voice on behalf of workers’ rights and affordable housing.

Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1) has a strong record of supporting affordable housing, economic justice, and accountable government — with one of the highest scores on our recent Council voting record scorecard. She has been a key partner with progressive organizations in DC in advancing affordable housing, passing paid family & medical leave, and prioritizing investments in key services over tax cuts for millionaires and businesses.

Kenyan McDuffie(Ward 5) is committed to racial justice and criminal justice reform, and authored the groundbreaking NEAR Act. This legislation seeks to address DC’s serious problems with racially biased policing and racist police brutality, by treating violence prevention and policing as matters of public health and investing in community engagement. He has also played a key role in advancing juvenile justice reform, campaign finance, and fair elections.

Charles Allen has worked hard to bring affordable housing to Ward 6, which has created the most affordable units of any Ward over the past three years. He has also been a solid supporter of paid family leave. He championed the recently passed Fair Elections legislation, which will help more diverse and representative candidates to win office, by providing matching funds to candidates who rely on small donors instead of large corporate donations.

Emily Gasoi has over 20 years of significant and relevant experience in education, fighting alongside students, teachers, and parents. She is running for the Ward 1 seat to strengthen our neighborhood schools so that families have a real choice about where to send their children. Emily has smart ideas to engage constituents and raise the visibility of the State Board, so it’s a body that can hold the system accountable. If she is elected to the State Board, Emily will be part of a strong progressive bloc who can help fix some of the challenges facing our public schools.

Karl Racine has used his office to protect vulnerable residents, especially people of color and those who are affected by poverty. As DC’s first elected Attorney General, he has prioritized criminal justice reforms that keep thousands of young Black and brown DC residents out of prison and supported with the social services they need.

Elissa Silverman is a fierce champion of economic and social justice. As a Councilmember she has worked tirelessly to support renters, seniors, and low-income residents by fighting for funding for rental subsidies, public transit, and unemployment insurance. She is an author of DC’s groundbreaking paid family and medical leave law and a loud voice on behalf of workers’ rights and affordable housing.

Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1) has a strong record of supporting affordable housing, economic justice, and accountable government — with one of the highest scores on our recent Council voting record scorecard. She has been a key partner with progressive organizations in DC in advancing affordable housing, passing paid family & medical leave, and prioritizing investments in key services over tax cuts for millionaires and businesses.

Kenyan McDuffie(Ward 5) is committed to racial justice and criminal justice reform, and authored the groundbreaking NEAR Act. This legislation seeks to address DC’s serious problems with racially biased policing and racist police brutality, by treating violence prevention and policing as matters of public health and investing in community engagement. He has also played a key role in advancing juvenile justice reform, campaign finance, and fair elections.

Charles Allen has worked hard to bring affordable housing to Ward 6, which has created the most affordable units of any Ward over the past three years. He has also been a solid supporter of paid family leave. He championed the recently passed Fair Elections legislation, which will help more diverse and representative candidates to win office, by providing matching funds to candidates who rely on small donors instead of large corporate donations.

Emily Gasoi has over 20 years of significant and relevant experience standing with students, parents, and teachers, including as a classroom teacher and teacher mentor. She is running to strengthen our neighborhood schools so that families have a real choice about where to send their children. Emily has smart ideas to engage constituents and leverage the State Board of Education’s power.

Over the past four years, Ruth Wattenberg has been a proven advocate for equity in education, including strengthening DC public schools, demanding transparency from the Mayor, and minimizing the use of test scores in school ratings. She knows that test score statistics reflect whether students come from rich or poor families, not their abilities or their teachers’ performance — and that relying on test scores narrows what we allow children to learn.

Zachary Parker has fought education inequity for the last 10 years as a teacher and as a coach for principals and other administrators. He knows that our broken teacher evaluation system is forcing out some of our most effective teachers by measuring the wrong things. Zachary wants to make sure that proposed charter schools are thoroughly vetted before we turn our children over to them.

Joe Weedon helped establish Serve Your City, supporting after school programming for students across DC, and is the only State Board of Education member with kids currently in a neighborhood public school. Along with Ruth and Ward 8 member Markus Batchelor, Joe stands up to the administration’s PR spin about how quickly our schools are improving.